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A new class of superhydrophobic cotton composites with Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) that promise marine oil-spill clean-up in near future.   GUWAHATI, 20th September 2021: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Researchers have developed a novel highly porous and water repellent superhydrophobic cotton composite material containing Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), which can absorb oil selectively from oil-water mixture.   The MOF composite has great capability for selective separation of the oils from oil/water mixtures, and the separation efficiency lies between 95% and 98%, irrespective of the chemical composition and density of the oils. Besides, the MOF composite is also able to absorb large volumes of oils and can be reused for minimum 10 times so that the sorbents can provide more recovery of the spilled oil.   The practical applications of this Research include Cleaning the spilled oil from environmental water (river, sea or ocean water) during oil transportation with high efficiency and large absorption capacity, thus reducing environmental water pollution Both heavy and light oils can be effectively absorbed by the material The material is easy to prepare, cost-effective and recyclable   The research team was led by Dr. Shyam P. Biswas, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry. IIT Guwahati. The results of this pathbreaking work have recently been published in the reputed peer-reviewed journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.0c21337)”, belonging to American Chemical Society.   Explaining the motive of the research, Dr. Shyam P. Biswas, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, said, “In our work, we focused on a real problem in environmental water pollution in current time. Our goal was to develop a new material which could be synthesized easily and should be cost effective. We have grown our new MOF material on the surface of medical cotton, which is environment friendly and cost effective. Such low-cost material will reduce the production cost of the material for large scale industrial synthesis for real applications, compared to currently available materials in the market”.   Further, elaborating on how this research will benefit the country, Dr. Shyam P. Biswas said, “In a vast country like India where petroleum hydrocarbons are the major sources of fuel, accidental oil spills occur frequently here during transportation and storage of oils. The material developed in our laboratory will certainly be beneficial to reduce the environmental water pollution by efficiently absorbing the spilled oil from environmental water.”   In the petroleum industry, oil leakage and oil spill accidents happen frequently during offshore oil exploitation and oil transportation. This severe water contamination threatens the health of human beings including other living species. Therefore, the treatment of industrial oily wastewater and the separation of oil spill from water has become a worldwide challenging task.   To overcome this problem, the IIT Guwahati researchers have synthesized a superhydrophobic MOF composite with cotton to absorb oil selectively from water. MOFs are a class of compounds containing of metal ions coordinated to organic ligands to form 3D structures, with the special feature that they are often highly porous materials that act like a sponge.   The team led by Dr. Biswas initially developed a superhydrophobic MOF which can repel the water and float on the water surface. Then, they grew the same MOF on the surface of medical cotton. It was observed that the medial cotton changes from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic material and can float on the water surface. The MOF-coated cotton fiber composite showed water repellence with a water contact angle (WCA) of 163°.   The flexible superhydrophobic MOF composite showed an oil absorption capacity more than 2500 wt%. Motor oil, kerosene and gasoline were used by the team in this study to investigate the real-life potential of the material for oil-spill clean-up. The research team has also demonstrated the separation of oil from oil/water mixture by simple gravity-directed filtration and also collection of underwater oil against gravity.   The growing environmental pollution is a serious threat to our society for sustainable development. Among the various environmental problems, water pollution is one of the serious issues in India. Until now, petroleum hydrocarbon products are the main energy sources in the world.

Asper the orders by The Supreme Court, every admission into all the government and private medical colleges should be made through a centralized counseling system based on the NEET examination results. Keeping this in mind, Delhi HC said, “Many students burn the oil day and night working hard to get into the educational institution based on merit. Therefore, our moral duty is to ensure that there is no backdoor entry for admissions in any institutions, including medical colleges”. This observation by the highcourt came into the limelight whiledismissing an appeal made by five students who were granted admissions in 2016 by LN Medical College Hospital and Research Center, Bhopal, without centralized counseling conducted by the Department of Medical examination. Henceforth, the Medical Council of India issued a dismissal letter regarding these five petitioners in April 2017. Afterward, a lot of communications were also sent, but neither the students nor the institution paid attention. Source: theindianexpress.com

For a long time, women’s rights and gender equality have remained the most discussed topics in the world. Though women have a lot of freedom in different ways but have we noticed any monumental changes? The answer to that is yes.   Throughout the years, women have achieved what they had been manifesting for a long time. Some of the highlighted rights they demand include freedom from sexual violence, the allowance to hold public office and equal rights in family laws. So far, the response and support they’ve received are somewhat pleasing, but often it is associated with bias.   Firstly, we will look at the learning levels between the two genders. Throughout the learning levels between genders, gender equality is prominent. The National Achievement Survey (2017) was amongst the most trustworthy surveys conducted on a national level. They experimented on over 22 Lakh elementary students that comprised of boys and girls. The result was astounding. It clearly showed that the learning levels of boys and girls were indeed similar. We can conclude this if we consider average scores in Mathematics of girls and boys from Class 3 and 5, it is the same at 63 and 53. This conclusion also applies to Class 10 students where the grade difference between the two genders does not make it up to one per cent. However, a positive result is not always evident.   Even though the number of girls approaching education has increased over the past two decades, the count of girls who achieve attainment in education is still not appreciable. The number of girls enrolling for elementary and secondary education at the crucial stages of a child’s complete development has tripled from just 1.7 years in 1990 to 4.7 in 2018. Boys are also moving closer to completing their education. However, according to observations, many girls prefer not to continue their education after completing secondary education.   The latest Annual Status of Education Report “Early Years” proves that parents tend to invest more money for the graduation of their sons from private colleges with high fees. Whereas, parents often encourage their daughters to graduate from government facilities where the fees required to pay is negligible when compared to private facilities.   In the present world, artificial intelligence is replacing humans. But we still haven’t learnt to respect women and appreciate their presence in a highly male-dominated society.

The Lok Sabha MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma for the constituency Andaman and Nicobar Island has recently requested to fill all the vacant positions of principal, vice-principal, headmaster, and teachers in the government schools situated within the union territory. The Congress MP made this demand while he met the Director of Education Department Administration; he had asked to fill up all the vacant posts in the government schools on the island. Rai mentioned that almost all the schools are running without a principal and vice-principal, and headmaster, which negatively impacts the education system and affects the school management. Source: thetimesofindia.com

The ICFAI School of Architecture a constituent of the ICFAI Foundation of Higher Education (IFHE) deemed University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the prestigious Italian University Politecnico Di Milano (Ranked No. 1 in Italy by QS) on August 23, 2021. The MoU was signed virtually. Dr. J Mahender Reddy, Vice Chancellor – IFHE said that “The agreement with the renowned institution like Politecnico Di Milano which is more than 150 yrs old is a great value addition and it will enhance the research activities of the faculty of the ICFAI School of Architecture (ISarch)”. Prof. Matteo Poli, DASTu, Politecnico Di Milano in his statement said, “The MoU will be the basis of several exchanges for students and professors of India and Italy, Milano and Hyderabad on architecture, landscape and urban design”. Highlights of the MoU:   To co-operate in conduct of seminars, courses, workshops, summer schools, internships and other research activities; To organize meetings, lectures etc., to share the knowledge and experience; To enable the exchange of teachers, researchers and students.   Ms. Varshini Varanasi, Visiting Faculty of ISarch and a former student of Milano, and Dr. Massimo Vianello, Advisor at ICFAI School of Architecture actively coordinated with the authorities in Italy for the successful completion of this MoU. About Politecnico Di Milano: Politecnico Di Milano is a scientific-technological University established in the year 1863 trains engineers, architects and industrial designers. The University has seven locations across Italy with over 47,000 students enrolled in this academic year. The University is adjudged No.1 in Italy by the latest rankings released by QS Agency (updated as on June 2021). The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with business and productive world by means of experimental research and technological transfer. Politecnico was one of the first Italian universities to implement the reform of the university system, which led to the “three plus two” education structure with Bachelor of Science and Master of Science programmes. Since the academic year 2000-2001 the institution has also set up a bachelor’s programme in Computer Engineering online, the first of its kind in Italy. About ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE):   The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE) is Deemed-to-be University under section 3 of the UGC Act 1956. ICFAI Business School (IBS) is a constituent of IFHE. About five thousand eight hundred students are pursuing various programs in the Faculty of Management (ICFAI Business School), Faculty of Science & Technology (IcfaiTech), Faculty of Law (ICFAI Law School) and ICFAI School of Architecture, NAAC, an autonomous institute of University Grants Commission has also accredited The University with ‘A+’ Grade with an impressive score (institutional CGPA) of 3.43 out of 4.  To suit the present day competitive environment, IFHE has a mission to create entrepreneurs capable of contributing to different fields of business and management.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced the admit card for the civil services exam that is going to be conducted in the year 2021. The candidates applying for the exam can check their respective admit cards from the website, ‘upsc.gov.in.’ The last date to download the admit card is October 10. The admit card is a must for verification purposes and without it, the candidate will not be allowed to apply for the exam. The admit card will be a compilation of the applicants photo, name, roll number, registration ID, year of exam and SOP. Steps To Download Your Admit Card Step 1: Visit the official website, upsc.gov.in Step 2: Click on the link in the ‘what’s new’ section Step 3: Log-in using credentials Step 4: Admit card will appear, download Important Instruction to Follow On Campus Candidates need to enter the exam venue 10 minutes prior to the scheduled commencement of the exam, which is 9:20 AM for the forenoon session and 2:20 PM for the afternoon session. Note: All candidates will be denied entry after the closure of the entry gates. Only the use of ordinary watches is allowed in the exam hall. The use of smart watches or any other watch that has a communication device embedded is strictly prohibited. Applicants to also note that while appearing for the exam, only the use of black ball point pen is permitted. Any answers marked with a pen of a different colour, will not be accepted. Source: NEWS 18

The JEE Advanced 2021 registrations were scheduled to begin from Monday, but have been delayed. IIT Kharagpur will begin registrations as soon as the NTA declares the results for the JEE Main final session. In a report published by the Indian Express, Debashish Chakravarty, JEE Advanced 2021 chairman said, “We are waiting for JEE Main result to be declared so that JEE Advanced registration process can begin.” The JEE Main final session result was supposed to be declared on September 10, 2021. Hence, the JEE Advanced registration process was scheduled to begin on September 11. But, due to a delay in the declaration of the JEE Main final session result, the JEE Advanced registration process will begin on September 13, 2021. Only the candidates who clear the JEE Main final exam will be eligible to appear for the JEE Advanced exam which is scheduled for October 3, 2021. The result of the JEE Advanced exams will be announced on October 15, 2021. Details such as the NTA percentile score, All India Rank of the candidate, the qualifying cutoff along with personal details such as the candidate’s name, state, category, etc are mentioned in the result. As the exam was being conducted in four sessions this year, the best of the percentile scores will be considered for the candidates who appeared for the exam in more than one session. Source: Indian Express

The management of the private school in the state of Andhra Pradesh has initiated a request to its government to allow relaxations in the fee fixation rules for the sake of helping the already burdened sectors and for the survival of the budget private schools. Since the school has been facing a shutdown due to covid-9 for the past 18 months, there are a lot of financial crises being faced by these schools lately, due to the covid-19 pandemic. Keeping in mind, the need of the hour as per the current situation of these schools, the President of National Independence school alliance (NISA) Dr. Kulbhushan Sharma, mentioned, “As per the total revenue of the private schools in India has fallen from Rs 15 lakh to 7.5 lakh crores. Among these almost 80 % of schools are low-budget private schools. Lately, they have been under a lot of burdens due to financial stress with EMIs for buses, insurance, loans from financiers, teacher’s salary, ESI, property tax, bill, etc.” Sharma Added,” the fee fixation rules in Andhra Pradesh have become more troublesome while there was a shutdown of schools seen due to covid-19. The autonomy of private sectors has been violated in many areas. Hence, it has become important now that some relaxation in fee fixation rules shall be given by the Andhra Pradesh government. That will help these private schools to catch up with the losses incurred during the pandemic. Source: ndtv.com

GUWAHATI, 9th September 2021: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has retained its position in National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF) achieving 07 Rank in ‘Engineering’ Category this year and ranked 08 in India in ‘Overall’ Category in NIRF 2021. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Education Minister, Government of India, announced NIRF 2021 results today (9th September 2021). Announcing the NIRF 2021 Ranking Results, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Education Minister, Government of India, said, “In India especially the public Institutions should come out with their own ranking framework as the state fully supports the Institutes. The entire eco system is primarily qualitive in India but we are little hesitant in nature, In India we never consider education as a commodity but in western world it is slightly commercialized. The ranking practice around the globe was a surprise to me, the quality of research work, the quality of knowledge power in our institutions was a pleasant surprise to me” Congratulating the Institute on its performance, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “This is a reflection of the dedicated effort by the institute faculty, staff and students despite the pandemic. This is clearly reflected in both overall and engineering ranks over the past several years and seen in international rankings as well.” Highlighting the Academic and Research plans for the coming year, Prof. T. G. Sitharam said, “The Institute has been working in multiple fronts of academic and industry to attract the best brains across the world and industry leaders, who have been given appointments as honorary and visiting faculty members and this has intensified both the academic collaboration and industry interaction, thereby allowing more technology transfers and better publications. This has also resulted in attracting higher research funds, opening newer academic interdisciplinary schools and centers and engaging more closely with government organizations for socially relevant projects as well as implementing the NEP2020.” IIT Guwahati is the only academic institution in India that occupied a place among the top 100 world universities – under 50 years of age – ranked by the London-based Times Higher Education (THE) in the year 2014 and continues to maintain its superior position even today in various International Rankings. IIT Guwahati has eleven departments, five inter-disciplinary academic centres and four schools covering all the major engineering, science and humanities disciplines, offering BTech, BDes, MA, MDes, MTech, MSc/MS and PhD programmes. The institute offers a residential campus to 412 faculty members and more than 6,000 students at present. IIT Guwahati gained rank 41 globally in the ‘Research Citations per Faculty’ category and overall 395 rank in the QS World University Rankings 2022 released recently. Among other frontier areas of research and innovation, IIT Guwahati is working towards augmenting critical science research initiatives in Genomics, Developmental Biology, Health Care and Bioinformatics, Flexible Electronics, Advanced Functional Materials, Sustainable Polymers, Rural Technologies, Disaster Resilience and Risk Reduction, and Water Resources and Management. Started in 2015, NIRF outlines a methodology to rank educational institutions across the country. The parameters used for ranking broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcome,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception.” ABOUT IIT GUWAHATI Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati established in 1994 has completed 25 years of glorious existence in 2019. At present, the Institute has eleven departments, five inter-disciplinary academic centres and four schools covering all the major engineering, science and humanities disciplines, offering BTech, BDes, MA, MDes, MTech, MSc and PhD programmes. The institute offers a residential campus to 412 faculty members and more than 6,000 students at present. Besides its laurels in teaching and research, IIT Guwahati has been able to fulfil the aspirations of people of the North East region to a great extent since its inception in 1994. The picturesque campus is on a sprawling 285 hectares plot on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, around 20 kms from the heart of the Guwahati city. IIT Guwahati is the only academic institution in India that occupied a place among the top 100 world universities – under 50 years of age – ranked by the London-based Times Higher Education (THE) in the year 2014 and continues to maintain its superior position even today in various International Rankings. IIT Guwahati gained rank 41 globally in the ‘Research Citations per Faculty’ category and overall 395 rank in the QS World University Rankings 2022 released recently. IIT Guwahati has retained the 7th position among the best engineering institutions of the country in the ‘India Rankings 2019’ declared by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of the Union ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). IIT Guwahati has been also ranked 2nd in the ‘Swachhata Ranking’ conducted by the Govt. of India. Recently, IIT Guwahati has been ranked as the top ranked University in 2019 for IT developers by HackerRank in the Asia-Pacific region. Among other frontier areas of research and innovation, IIT Guwahati is working towards augmenting critical science research initiatives in Genomics, Developmental Biology, Health Care and Bioinformatics, Flexible Electronics, Advanced Functional Materials, Sustainable Polymers, Rural Technologies, Disaster Resilience and Risk Reduction, and Water Resources and Management. In its silver jubilee year, IIT Guwahati is poised to scale newer heights through all round growth and development.

In this new time when everything has gone online, the new trends of education are also grooming themselves to be fully online and hi-tech to be suited with the current need of education. As kids are now bound to stay at home ever since it’s been more than a year. Since every problem comes up with a solution it is impeding to understand that new Edu-Tech collaborations are going to be a favorite affair for students and education. Keeping the aspirational ideas of increased demand for EdTech, a lot of ventures are trying their best to create a benchmark in the market. Juxtaposing the same aspirations in the right direction, Bengaluru -based GiveIndia, has launched a new EdTech initiative, with a target to enable online access to education for over 1 million underprivileged school -going children across the country. This a new aspirational project under the banner of Bharat EdTech Initiative, is been inspired and initiated to clear up the digital divide between the demographic gap of students who belonged to two different categories of low-income community and wealth community. So that the loss incurred during the covid-19 can be made up to these children which created a setback during the pandemic due to lack of suitable support and infrastructure. There are several EdTech community partners involved in this initiative; EI-Mindspark, Topper, Vedantu, Akansha, Bal Utsav, Educate Girls, People for Action, Saajha and Sarathion board. This program is especially designed for school goers and children belonging to classes 3 to 12, with families belonging to income group 25000 or less. This initiative will bridge the gap between under-privileged and new technologies. With this it will provide an equal access to the latest type of education, for the vulnerable class and girls. This program will cover several languages, Mathematics and science subjects and it will be implemented in two phases. The first phase is targeted to improve engagement for leaning from home-based learning culture till August 2022. This will focus on serving children from key geographical areas for at least 10,000 students. Second phase which is to be started from September 2022 onwards, will be targeted to increase these improvised applied solutions across the country and cover more than 1 million students. In this initiative, GiveIndia is set to manage partner relationships and fund administration, while Sattva will be the design manager and the program partner. Along with that Dell foundation is the anchor founder and fund initiator for this project. It will be a ray of hope project for many underprivileged children and will also lessen the internet divide as far as possible. Which the biggest need of the time, when being connected online is the only best way possible. Source: Theeconomicstimes.com